Queensland's electric car 'super highway' all but completed

Why it matters

The Queensland government today begins a $3 million down payment on the shift to electric vehicles.

Fast charging for electric cars will be free for 12 months, but the private sector will begin to charge about $40 per month.

It is now possible to drive an electric car all the way from Cairns to Coolangatta, snubbing $1.50 a litre petrol, with the Palaszczuk government's east coast network of charging stations all but complete.

Electric charging at the stations will be free for the first 12 months before fees are introduced, bringing the cost to charge an average car to about $45.

A network of "fast" electric car chargers is now in place from Cairns to Coolangatta.

Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia all have fledgling electric super highways and demand is rising, while the federal government is openly investigating the hidden costs of electric vehicles.

In 2016, Queensland had fewer than 300 fully electric cars registered. With hybrids included, that figure rose to about 700.

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As of early 2018, the number had swollen to 1300, including hybrid cars.

Globally, there are about 2 million fully electric vehicles on the road.

Queensland electric car drivers cars can now recharge in 17 locations north and south of Brisbane and west to Toowoomba. The early idea is for the charging stations to be powered by electricity generated by renewable energy sources.

Most of the chargers were built by Brisbane company Tritium, which provided the Veefil fast chargers to countries throughout Europe, while a smaller number were provided by EVLink, which were manufactured by Schneider Electric.

On Wednesday, Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey will announce that, except for a planned fast-charger at Helensvale, Queensland’s other 17 fast electric car chargers were now operating.

“This electric super highway is a series of fast-charging electric vehicle stations that make it possible to drive an electric vehicle from the state’s southern border to the far north,” Mr Bailey said.

"We knew our vision was ambitious, but this shift is happening around the world and unfortunately Australia is lagging behind.”

Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey charges an electric car in Cairns at the northern edge of Queensland's electric super highway.

Photo: Supplied.

Helensvale has been slightly delayed by technical problems and will be in place after the April Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Even a small electric sedan can still make the 98-kilometre journey from Brisbane to the next closest charger at Tugun.

The final two electric chargers were installed in Townsville and Carmila, between Mackay and Rockhampton, last week.

“We now have the world’s longest electric vehicle super highway in a single state stretching all the way up our beautiful eastern coastline," Mr Bailey said.

RACQ chief executive Paul Turner said the motorists’ lobby group welcomed the step into the future but there were problems encouraging motorists to switch to electric cars.

There are several different types of electric charging systems; slower overnight “wall system” charging systems suitable for homes and the “fast” charging systems, which take about an hour to charge a car.

Fast chargers will cost about $1.50 per day or about $40 per month, based on Canstar Blue analysis of a Tesla Model S travelling the average commute of about 30 kilometres a day on an average electricity plan charging 23₵/kWh.

In Western Australia, they now cost 45₵ per kilowatt-hour of power to charge an electric car from a “fast” charging station and the batteries range from 33 kilowatt-hour to 100 kilowatt-hour, for a top-of-the-range Tesla.

A fast-charging battery recharge station takes approximately 20-30 minutes to restore a fully depleted Nissan Leaf battery to about 80 per cent.